


run for your life

by MaddieandChimney



Series: Meet Cutes [7]
Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: AU in which Chim is the police officer, F/M, Gen, mentions of domestic violence (past), mentions of injury
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-19
Updated: 2020-09-19
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:22:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,600
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26542117
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaddieandChimney/pseuds/MaddieandChimney
Summary: Maddie has driven thousands of miles only to get pulled over by a cop ten minutes from her brother's house. The universe really was mocking her.
Relationships: Evan "Buck" Buckley & Maddie Buckley, Maddie Buckley/Howie "Chimney" Han
Series: Meet Cutes [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1927492
Comments: 4
Kudos: 37
Collections: 9-1-1 Tales





	run for your life

Maddie’s heart thumps uncomfortably against her chest when she sees the sirens behind her, her grip tightening on the steering wheel when she half thinks about just stepping a little harder on the gas. She knows she’s not exactly a master criminal or a boy racer so the chances of her actually getting away from the police car trying to pull her over is non-existent.

Perfect, she can’t help but think, she’s driven practically non-stop aside from the quick nap here and there, for the past two and a half days and this is where she gets stopped. Barely ten minutes away from the address on the back of the Christmas cards her brother always sent her. Just wonderful, she’s going to get arrested, her husband is going to find out and he’s going to come to LA and bring her right back to Hershey. Just when she had been so close to some semblance of safety.

She angrily wipes at the tears that fall down her bruised face the second she pulls her car to the side of the road, only letting go of the wheel to roll her window down as she takes a deep breath. It’s just her luck, she should have known this would happen, that somehow Doug would find a way to stop her from leaving, that even the universe was helping him. Maybe that was just the way things were meant to be, she had gotten too complacent as soon as she crossed that final state line, far away from Pennsylvania.

“Ma’am, license and registration, please.”

She refuses to look in his direction as she hands him what he’s asked for with shaking hands, taking a deep breath as she just stares at the road ahead of her instead. She had been so close. She hadn’t spoken to her brother in three years and if it were the last thing she could do before Doug found her again. He had made it clear that if she ever tried to leave him, it would be the last thing she ever did. “Do you know why I pulled you over?”

Because the universe hates her and she’s probably going to die in Hershey. “No.”

“You were speeding.”

“Okay.” She feels defeated, just giving a small shrug of her shoulders, not really sure what else she is supposed to do. Is he going to arrest her and throw her in jail? Rotting away until her husband waltzes in to save the day, playing the ever doting man, forcing her into the role of crazed wife.

“Ma’am—Mrs Kendall? Are you okay? Are you hurt?” There’s a level of concern in his voice that finally forces her to turn her head, staring into the kind, brown eyes of the officer for just a second before she nods her head.

“I’m fine.” Her two favourite words to a three word question she had been asked a thousand times before. She had quickly learnt towards the beginning of their relationship that Doug was good at making it look as though she was the problem and not him, and not even just to the outside world, she had believed it for a long time as well.

She listens to the sound of him taking a deep breath before he steps back, “Can you step out of the car please?” Maddie can’t think of anyway to get out of it, so she does what she’s told, wincing as she stands up straight for the first time in hours, her ribs aching with the movement. She’s waiting for the handcuffs to be clasped around her wrists, only to be met with the officer taking a small step towards her with a concerned look on his face. “I’m Sergeant Han—Howie. Do you want to tell me where you’re going?”

Not really, she thinks. She wonders why he’s hesitant in his movements and then she remembers what an absolute mess she must look. She had run from the house the moment Doug had left for a weekend conference, having planned it for over six months but finally taking her opportunity the very second she could. Bleeding and bruised, she had just thrown her bag in the car and drove as fast as she could to LA without ever thinking of going back. “My brother’s place.”

“Are you running from someone?”

She hates that she feels as though she’s being interrogated on the side of the road, a wave of nausea rushing over her, enough so she leans back into her car, gulping down the lump in her throat as she shrugs her shoulders. She was running from her life, not just someone. “Am I being arrested?” Maddie mumbles, wrapping her arms around herself when she looks at him with tear-filled eyes, seeing the horror on his face as she does.

“No-god, no. I just—your car will be fine here for the night, we can tell your brother where it is, let me take you there.”

Everything inside of her wants to argue, unable to fathom the idea of showing up at her brother’s apartment after not talking to him for three years. But she knows he’s right, now that she’s actually stopped, she can feel the exhaustion settling in and the throbbing pain from the bruising on her cheek and her side, the back of her head. She takes a breath, biting down on her lip to quell the quivering, “Can I get my bag?”

“I’ll grab it for you.”

All she can do is nod her head, watching him lean over the seat to grab her bag from the other side, turning her ignition just so he can roll the window back up before he closes the door behind him. “Do you have your brothers address?”

“Uh, I um—” Maddie pats down the pockets of her cardigan before she pulls out a crumpled, tear-stained Christmas card and hands it to him.

“Wait, Buck? Buck is your brother?” The man is staring down at the smiling photograph of her brother standing in front of a firetruck, “You’re Maddie as in Maddie Buckley, I-I, he’s talked about you.”

That’s enough to make the tears fall as she shakes her head, “H-he has?”

“A lot, he doesn’t live here anymore though, I’ll take you to where he’s staying at the moment, come on. He’ll be so excited to see you.” He holds the door open for her, giving her a smile when she slides inside, returning the smile when he hands the card back to her the moment she’s sitting down. For just a second, she stares down at the grinning face of her brother, hoping he really is excited to see her after she had just ignored his calls for so long. She hopes he’ll understand without her delving into the past too much, she doesn’t want to hurt him more than she knows she already has.

“He doesn’t know you’re coming, does he?” All she does is shake her head as she grips onto what had been her lifeline for the last six months of planning, “Do you uh—my best friend, Hen, she works with your brother, she’s a paramedic—she can check you over if that’s okay?”

Maddie sighs, shaking her head, “It’s fine, it looks worse than it is, I just haven’t cleaned up yet. I’ll be fine.”

She’s glad when he doesn’t push, watching her car from the passenger window as they pull away from it, “Do you want to press charges?”

“No, he’ll find me if I do.” She doesn’t know what drives her to be honest right then but she supposes she has nothing to lose. This man knows her brother but he doesn’t know her and her brother barely knows her anymore so there’s no point in hiding a part of herself from him. All the man—Howie—does is nod his head in response, but she can see the way his grip tightens on the steering wheel as he takes a deep breath.

The silence that falls between them is comfortable and she finds herself leaning against the door as her eyes fall to a close, sleep coming much easier than she could have ever thought possible.

. 

Maddie can feel her brother just staring at her after she’s settled on the couch, his blue eyes swim with unshed tears and he keeps looking from his friend to her as though he doesn’t know what to say or do. She supposes he doesn’t. What was anyone meant to do when their sister they hadn’t heard from in three years, turns up at their door looking as rough as she did right then? She had caught a glimpse of herself in the car mirror once Howie had helped her out of the car. She looked _awful_ , and she almost wishes she had stopped somewhere to clean herself up before she turned up at her brother’s apartment.

Dried blood coated her hairline, the bruise around her eye was darkening, as well as the one that accompanied the cut on her lip. She’s pale, greasy, long hair tied back in a loose bun that shows off the finger shaped bruises around her neck. Even she can’t stop herself from frowning at her own reflection, wondering how it come to this, how she could have let herself become the kind of woman she had seen in the ER time and time again.

She’s not surprised her brother is looking at her in shock, or the way he keeps opening and closing his mouth as though he’s trying to find the words but can’t even fathom the idea that anything that falls from his lips will be enough or right.

Howie still there, grabbing some glasses from the kitchen cupboards as though he’s been there a hundred times before and Maddie can’t help but wonder how close he is to her brother. It’s irrational, but when she glances around the apartment, she can’t see anything that remotely relates to his childhood or to her, not a single photograph of either of them. He must hate her, she can remember the countless missed calls, and then the letters and then eventually, just the Christmas and Birthday cards. “Here,” Howie’s voice is soft as he kneels in front of her, and she can’t help but look into his kind eyes when he holds out a glass of water and two pills, “just some Advil.”

Maddie is grateful when she takes the glass with a shaking hand, easily popping the two pills when she tilts her head back and takes a large gulp of the cool liquid. “I’ve called Hen,” She knows he’s mostly talking to her brother at that point, who only nods his head, the two men turning back to her, “I think you just need to let her quickly look you over. No hospital, I promise but you’re clearly in a lot of pain, Maddie.”

There’s just something about the way he’s talking to her that alleviates any panic or anger she had felt knowing he had done something she had asked him not to. At least her little brother seems a little more comforted by the fact someone is going to take a look at her and if she can bridge any of the gap between them in anyway at all, then it’s worth it. “Can I have a shower after?”

“Of course, Maddie, of course you can.” It’s as though the fact he’s finally spoken has given him the drive he needed to slip into the seat next to her, the tears finally falling as he looks at her. “Doug did this to you?”

Slowly, his hand slips into the one that isn’t holding the glass, and she finds herself leaning her head against her brother’s shoulder as she closes her eyes. She doesn’t answer him, she doesn’t really know how to because she’s sure the answer is obvious and it’s probably answering questions he didn’t even want to think about for so long, “How long, Maddie? A-always?”

“I don’t think knowing how long will make it any easier, Evan.” She whispers, unsure if she’s just not willing to answer or if she just doesn’t want to accept the answer just yet. The conversation is something she isn’t ready to have and she doesn’t think he’s ready to hear it, either. “I um, I had to leave, I didn’t know where else to go—and he doesn’t you’re here. He—he never asks about you, he just, he doesn’t know you’re here and I didn’t know where else I would be safe.”

Her chest burns with panic as she looks at her brother and then at the police officer, “He said if I ever left he would kill me, and he meant it. If he finds me—”

“You’re safe with me, with all of us at the 118 and Chimney—” He glances at the man still kneeling in front of them so she knows who he’s referring to at that, “You’re safe here Maddie, you don’t have to run, I-I can… I can keep you safe, give me a chance to do that, please?” There’s a desperation in his voice that breaks her heart because she had always prided herself in protecting her brother.

“O-okay.”

Maddie jumps when the sound of the door knocking echoes through the apartment, her heart thumping against her chest and her eyes wide with unbridled panic as she watches Howie quickly move to open the door to what she assumes, after a few seconds of allowing the logic to kick in, is Hen. Her brother’s hand squeezes hers tightly and she can see the sadness in his face before he turns towards the sound of his two friends.

“Hey, Buck, Hen’s going to look Maddie over in the bathroom, okay?”

Maddie feels relief that she won’t be so completely exposed in front of the two men, grateful when Buck stands up to help her up. It takes them a moment to reach the bathroom, met by the sight of a woman with soft eyes and a sympathetic smile. “Hi Maddie, I’m Hen—” They both smile at each other the second Buck closes the door behind them, “I thought I’ll take a quick look over you before you grab a shower and then I’ll bandage you up if needed, okay?” There’s something about her entire aura that comforts Maddie, as she gulps and nods her head.

“Did you bring scissors? I don’t think I can lift my arms…”

“Of course.” The other woman keeps the smile on her face, although Maddie can see it falter for just a second, and she can’t help but wonder how close these people must be to her brother to show this amount of care towards a stranger. “You don’t have to explain anything to me but if I’m hurting you, just let me know, okay?”

With a trace of a smile, Maddie nods her head, trying to quell the fear that bubbles up inside of her that the other woman is going to judge her as so many have before. Somehow, this woman who barely knows her seems to pick up on her hesitation, the scissors still in her hand when she steps a little closer to her, careful with her movements. “It’s okay, I have all night and we can take this at your pace. Just tell me when you’re ready.”

The level of patience forces tears to spill over as her bottom lip trembles and she closes her eyes as she takes a deep breath, “I-I’m ready.”


End file.
